


What's Left to Love?

by clubluna



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Exile Arc on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I think?, M/M, Mild Blood, Sort Of, barely tho - Freeform, mention of tubbo and ranboo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:22:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29844195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clubluna/pseuds/clubluna
Summary: Alex goes back home to Karl after losing his battle to Technoblade, uncertain of how Karl will take the news about the loss of one of his lives.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	What's Left to Love?

  
The axe in Alex’s hand felt much too heavy now that he was away from his friends. The faint coppery smell of blood lingered in the air, and with a huff, he lowered the axe to drag behind him along the grass. His eyes squinted as his home came into view, the bright light illuminating in the windows revealing the back of the person inside. He only lifts his axe when he steps inside, immediately discarding it to the side before slumping into a chair.

Karl steps in at the sound of the door, and Alex is immediately comforted by the familiar smell of baking materials. Silently, Karl crosses the room until he’s able to cup Alex’s cheeks and lift his head up. Alex’s face is scattered with cuts, spots of blood on his cheeks and forehead. But what caught Karl off guard was the look of discontent on Alex’s face, a sign that the day hadn’t gone as he thought it would.

Karl’s lips jut out into a pout, and his thumb rubs against the red-stained cheek comfortingly. “Bad day?”

Alex isn’t able to nod with Karl’s hands holding him, but his eyes said it all. He blinks slowly, letting his eyes stay closed as Karl’s thumbs caress his skin. He’s quickly torn out of that reality by a beeping sound, and Karl suddenly pulls away in a rush. Alex’s eyes flutter open just as Karl dashes out of the room, and he catches a whiff of cake from the next room. With great effort, Alex stands from the chair he slumped into and drags himself into the kitchen where Karl fled to. His heart warms at the sight of Karl’s concentrated face as he works on taking a cake out of the oven, hands wobbling slightly as he attempts to maintain his balance. Thankfully, he succeeds and slides the cake onto the counter with an exhale.

Karl jumps in surprise when he turns around, not expecting to see Alex leaned against the far wall, observing. “It needs to sit for a bit,” Karl informs him, gesturing with his hand to the cake set aside. Alex nods, before extending his arms out just enough to send the right message.

Karl slides across the kitchen to wrap his arms around Alex, who happily slumps against Karl, head falling to his chest with a heavy exhale. Karl frowns, choosing to not acknowledge that the speckles of blood on his clothing could quite easily be getting on his sweater now, but rather focusing on the rather distraught man in his arms. His hand rubs circles on Alex’s back, a method that is usually known to work in calming him down on the rare occasions he gets worked up, but Alex continues to huff and exhale, the method failing this time around.

It’s when Karl’s hand comes up to the beanie on his head that Alex tenses up, going rigid in Karl’s arms. Slowly, the beanie is pulled away until Alex’s hair falls forward. Karl is quick to toss the beanie on the nearby table, the hand that was previously tracing circles moving up to comb through his hair. Alex lets out a shaky sigh, burying his head further into Karl’s chest.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Karl whispers into the silence.

Alex’s eyes squeeze shut, his fingers tightening around Karl’s sweater. Behind his eyes, he could see it all over again. The excursion over the sea to find Technoblade with his friends, the four of them laughing and joking casually. The rage he felt at the sight of him, and the lack of regret he felt as he held an axe to the neck of his precious horse. The excitement to finally win a battle he’s fought, just to be left infuriated by the intervention of the one man he despised more than Technoblade. The adrenaline that coursed through his veins when challenging Technoblade, just to feel the regret he once lacked when his lives were knocked down from three to two.

Alex didn’t fear death. He’s had one too many close encounters with it to fear it, he and death were close acquaintances at this point. No, what he feared was what his death would cost him. All those times he picked fights, he had nothing to lose, only things to fight for. But times have changed since then. Because now he has someone who cares about him, and someone he cares about. Someone who will hug him tightly even when he’s stained with blood and there’s a cake waiting to be frosted.

“Karl,” Alex says softly, lifting his head. Karl’s heart clenches at the sight of Alex’s exhausted expression, his eyes glossy with tears. “Karl, I—“ Alex’s voice cracks, and he takes a moment to swallow the lump in his throat. “Karl, I lost a life today.”

Karl stops breathing, the arms that were wrapped around Alex falling limp to his side. Alex is quick to straighten up, and now it was his turn to cup Karl’s cheeks to keep his head lifted. He can see Karl’s eyes begin to fill with tears, and when his bottom lip begins to wobble, Alex can only feel defeat. 

“Karl, I’m sorry,” he says quickly, feeling his throat begin to constrict. “I know it was stupid, I know. I just…I wanted to do it, for L’Manberg, but I failed. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” A tear streaks down Karl’s cheek, and it takes everything in Alex’s power to not reach up and press his lips to Karl’s cheek and kiss away the tear. Karl exhales a shaky breath, his eyes not leaving Alex’s. “Karl, I’m sorry,” Alex whispers.

“I can’t lose you,” Karl confesses, and Alex’s chest tightens. “I can’t, Alex. What would I do if you—if you—“

“Stop,” Alex cuts him off, shaking his head. “You can’t talk like that, please, Karl.” His thumb swipes away the tears from Karl’s cheeks, and his brows knit together as he pleads, “Please, Karl, I’m not going to leave you. Okay?”

Karl doesn’t respond at first, his thoughts moving rapidly with all sorts of made-up scenarios. Alex sees the distant look in his eyes, and in a split second, he’s pulling Karl down into a feverish kiss. It successfully snaps Karl out of his own thoughts, his eyes sliding shut as he leans into his lover’s touch. Alex pulls away first, lips turning pink from the contact. Karl’s eyes flutter open as his lips part to let out slow breaths, and he stares at Alex with a fond expression.

Alex’s thumb slides down to glide over Karl’s bottom lip, and a smile tugs at his lips when Karl’s lips pucker up to press a gentle kiss to the digit. “I love you,” Alex tells him.

Karl’s racing heart skips a beat. “I love you too,” Karl responds.

Alex leans up to press a final kiss, before pulling away from Karl entirely. Karl sways a little at the loss of contact, not entirely there after the breath-stealing kiss. Alex then looks down at this clothing, remembering the speckles of blood littered on it. “I’m gonna change,” he tells Karl. His eyes flit over to the cake on the counter. “Then we can frost the cake together?”

“Mhm,” Karl hums, falling into the chair beside him. As Alex steps away from the kitchen, Karl’s head lolls to the side, his eyes landing on the view outside his window. L’Manberg was lit up with lanterns, and he can see Tubbo in the distance speaking to Ranboo. He loved their country, he really did, but if the country costs him Alex…what was there left to love about it?


End file.
